Diversity in Photojournalism: ‘Talk Is Cheap’

Actors Create 14 Decisive Moments

By Karly Domb SadofDec. 8, 2010Dec. 8, 2010

“The Hurt Locker,” winner of the 2010 Oscar for best picture, took 131 minutes to unfold. What kind of story can be told in just one minute?

With a gifted performer, quite a story indeed. From Tilda Swinton’s agonized Joan of Arc turn to James Franco’s suave self-seduction, the minutes add up to a kind of minifestival in “Fourteen Actors Acting: A Video Gallery of Classic Screen Types.” These brief clips portray not only the art, but also the joy and vigor of performance.

Kathy Ryan/The New York TimesAnthony Mackie and the photographer Solve Sundsbo, in the T-shirt.

They were directed by Solve Sundsbo of Norway, whose clients as a fashion photographer have included Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent and Dolce & Gabbana. The videos accompany the black-and-white portraits Mr. Sundsbo shot for “The Scene Makers: Actors Who Defined Cinema in 2010,” in the Hollywood Issue of The New York Times Magazine.

“You’re going from making iconic images to creating narratives,” he said, “but there is less of a narrative capacity in 60 seconds, so you need to create something like a poem that can lead your imagination.”

Kathy Ryan, the magazine’s photo editor, put the challenge simply: “We had to get somewhere really quickly with an impact. And it had to be beautiful.”

Kathy Ryan/The New York TimesChloë Moretz, filmed and photographed in London.

“Music can steer what people see in a picture,” Ms. Ryan said. “It can drastically re-chart the direction the picture was taking the person.” A lively scene can turn menacing in just a few beats. And a visually suspenseful image can be made comical by just one chord.”

The process of writing the music for each video was instinctive, Mr. Pallett said. “As soon as the image hit my eyes I knew automatically.”

However, his collaboration with a print publication and a photographer wasn’t crystal clear for everyone.

“I had a really hard time explaining the gig to my grandma,” Mr. Pallett said. “She was like, ‘Why are you writing music for a magazine?’”

Antonin Kratochvil/VII, for The New York TimesOwen Pallett, center, during a recording session in Prague.